Between 2019-2021, with funding from the European Union, the ESJF surveyed and mapped 3,588 Jewish cemeteries across 9 European countries, including, Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Croatia, Georgia, Moldova and Greece, using cutting edge drone technology. With the data we gathered, we created a comprehensive, open-access database of European Jewish cemeteries, which has maps and descriptions of each cemetery we visited.
Jewish cemeteries are still under threat of destruction due to the devastating impact of the past. The main reasons for this are:
The EU grants were carried out as a consortium with the renowned Jewish education NGO, Centropa, as well as the UK-based non-profit, the Foundation for Jewish Heritage (FJH), who complimented the ESJF’s survey work with educational and architectural preservation to help support the grants overarching goal of Jewish cemetery preservation. In 2021, the consortium received further funding to carry out this mission. More details of this grant can be found on the project website: https://www.jewishcemeteries.eu